Санджая
तद् आचार्यवचः श्रुत्वा कर्णो वैकर्तनस् त्वरन् ॥
अस्यतो लघुहस्तस्य पृषत्कैर् धनुर् आच्छिनत् ॥
अश्वान् अस्यावधीद् भोजो गौतमः पार्ष्णिसारथी ॥
शेषास् तु छिन्नधन्वानं शरवर्षैर् अवाकिरन् ॥
त्वरमाणास् त्वराकाले विरथं षण् महारथाः ॥
शरवर्षैर् अकरुणा बालम् एकम् अवाकिरन् ॥
tad ācāryavacaḥ śrutvā karṇo vaikartanas tvaran ||
asyato laghuhastasya pṛṣatkair dhanur ācchinat ||
aśvān asyāvadhīd bhojo gautamaḥ pārṣṇisārathī ||
śeṣās tu chinnadhanvānaṃ śaravarṣair avākiran ||
tvaramāṇās tvarākāle virathaṃ ṣaṇ mahārathāḥ ||
śaravarṣair akaruṇā bālam ekam avākiran ||
Hearing the teacher's word, Karna Vaikartana hastily cut with arrows the bow of the swift [prince] as he loosed his shafts, [coming from behind]. Bhoja [Kritavarman] slew his horses, Gautama [Kripa] his flank charioteers; and the rest showered arrows upon him, his bow now cut. Hastening in that fatal moment, six great chariot-warriors, merciless, showered arrows upon a single child bereft of his chariot.
6d60d6ca9eae · published Jul 19, 2026, 3:30:04 PM UTC
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Here the lawlessness is accomplished: six of the greatest warriors, on the teacher's counsel, disarm and shower arrows upon "a single child." The tradition names things plainly: "merciless," "a single child" — the verdict is pronounced in the very words. Karna cuts the bow from behind — a blow to the back of an unarmed man, the gravest violation of a warrior's dharma. It is significant that the tradition twice repeats "six" against "one" and "child." The verse teaches that there is no blacker crime than six men jointly killing a disarmed boy; that violating the rules of combat — striking from behind, striking the unarmed, striking in a mob — indelibly stains even the greatest; and that the tradition, plainly calling the killers "merciless" and the victim "a single child," pronounces upon them an eternal judgment that neither their fame nor their victory can revoke — for this is not victory but murder.